News Shorts: December 2nd 2018

Hobbs and Shaw
Dwayne Johnson has shared a new photo from the set of the “Fast and Furious” spin-off “Hobbs and Shaw”. The shot shows Vanessa Kirby as Hattie Shaw, MI6 Operative and sister of Deckard (Jason Statham) and Johnson’s Hobbs on the run on the streets of London in a major street-set action sequence. Idris Elba and Eiza Gonzalez co-star in the film opening August 2nd next year. [Source: Instagram]

The Fighting Shirley Chisholm
Oscar winner Viola Davis will produce and star as U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm, who was both the first woman and the first person of color to seek a major American political party’s nomination for President, in “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm” at Amazon Studios. Maggie Betts (“Novitiate”) will direct the screenplay written by Adam Countee (“Community,” Mindy Project”). The project is the first in Davis and Amazon’s recent first look deal.

Untitled Shyamalan Series
“Harry Potter” franchise actor Rupert Grint has signed on to co-star in M. Night Shyamalan’s untitled upcoming psychological thriller series for Apple. The as-of-yet unnamed series will have ten half-hour episodes, and Shyamalan is slated to direct the first episode which Tony Basgallop (“24: Legacy”) will pen.

NYPD Blue
Alona Tal (“SEAL Team”) is the first regular cast member to join ABC’s pilot for an “NYPD Blue” reboot. Tal will play one of the four main roles and the female lead in the sequel. The story revolves around Theo Sipowicz, son of Andy, who tries to earn his detective shield and work in the 15th squad while investigating his father’s murder. Tal will play Detective Nicole Lazarus, a detective in the midst of a divorce and playing around.

Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures announced on Thursday that it has acquired worldwide rights to two documentaries to premiere at Sundance next month – “Ask Dr. Ruth” and “Hail Satan?”. The Penny Lane-directed ‘Satan’ follows the rise of the mysterious organization known as The Satanic Temple.

The Ryan White-directed ‘Ruth’ covers the life of the famed sex therapist and Holocaust survivor. They’re planning a spring 2019 theatrical release ‘Satan’ and a more generic 2019 one for ‘Hulu’ with the latter being in partnership with Hulu.

Stargirl
Yvette Monreal and Christopher James Baker have been set as series regulars in DC Universe’s upcoming “Stargirl” series. Brec Bassinger plays high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore who inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. The new drama reimagines Stargirl and the very first superhero team, the Justice Society of America, in an unpredictable series.

Casimir Nozkowski makes his directing debut on the film about an introverted editor living a vertical life in his 2nd-floor apartment, always on deadline and in a rut. When he locks himself out of his building, he’s forced to go horizontal and confront the world he’s been avoiding in search of a way back inside.

Some of Our Stallions
Olivia Taylor Dudley (“The Magicians”) and Al Di (“Brigsby Bear”) have signed on to star in the indie comedy-drama “Some of Our Stallions” from producer Carson Mell (“The Long Dumb Road”). The story centers on two best friends struggling with mental illness while searching for the love of their lives. Filming begins in February in Vancouver.

The Undoing
Donald Sutherland has joined the cast of the upcoming six-episode HBO miniseries “The Undiong” alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. Kidman plays a successful therapist with a loving family whose life turns upside down overnight, and so she must dismantle one life and create another. Sutherland is set to play Franklin Renner, Kidman’s father and a retired financier tasked with protecting his family when turbulent revelations come to light.

Fantasy Island
Sony Pictures and Blumhouse have set a February 28th 2020 release date for the upcoming “Fantasy Island” film reboot starring Michael Pena as Mr. Roarke along with Lisa Hale, Jimmy O. Yang, Portia Doubelday, Maggie Q and Ryan Hansen. The Jeff Wadlow-directed film is based on the television series, which ran for seven seasons on the ABC Network from 1977 to 1984 and often dealt with dark themes and the supernatural.

Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
PlayStation has unveiled a new featurette for “The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan,” the new cinematic horror game title from “Until Dawn” creator Supermassive Games and the first in a horror anthology series in collaboration with Bandai Namco. The video involves developers created a terrifying ghost ship.

Nomis
Saban Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to David Raymond’s directorial debut “Nomis” starring Henry Cavill, Ben Kingsley, Alexandra Daddario, Stanley Tucci, Minka Kelly, and Nathan Fillion. The story follows American police trapping an online predator, only to realize the depth of his crimes goes far beyond anything they had anticipated. As new leads emerge and the case unravels, Cavill’s cop teams with a local vigilante (Kingsley) in pursuit of vengeance.

Lexi
Adam Devine (“Workaholics”) is set to co-star in the CBS Films comedy “Lexi” which Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (“Bad Moms”) will pen and direct. The story looks at what can happen when you love your phone more than anything else in your life. Devine falls in love with an A.I. who appears throughout his smart devices.

Cats
Robbie Fairchild has joined the cast of the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats” at Universal Pictures and Working Title Pictures. Fairchild will play the character Munkustrap. Fairchild joins a star-studded cast that already includes Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, and James Corden. Tom Hooper will direct and also adapted the screenplay along with Lee Hall.

Mustang
Focus Features has set a March 15th 2019 release date for the Matthias Schoenaerts drama “The Mustang”. Schoenaerts portrays a convict in a rural Nevada prison who, participating in community service, is spotted by a no-nonsense veteran trainer (Bruce Dern) and helped by an outgoing fellow inmate (Jason Mitchell) to be accepted into the selective wild horse training section of the program. Connie Britton, Gideon Adlon, and Josh Stewart also star.